1,400 mourners join memorial for Germanwings crash victims

Grieving relatives joined political and religious leaders Friday on April 17 in Cologne for a sombre German state memorial service for the victims of last month's Germanwings crash in the French Alps, blamed on a depressed co-pilot.

17.04.2015

(AFP) Grieving relatives joined political and religious leaders Friday on April 17 in Cologne for a
sombre German state memorial service for the victims of last month's
Germanwings crash in the French Alps, blamed on a depressed co-pilot.

Flags flew at half-mast nationwide for the 150 victims during the
ecumenical service at Cologne's historic cathedral attended by German
Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Joachim Gauck along with
officials from France and Spain.

A white flag emblazoned with a black cross hung outside the
cathedral, while in front of the altar 150 candles were lit, one for
each of those killed.

The service at northern Europe's largest Gothic church was also
broadcast live on screens outside the cathedral and to viewers
nationwide as Germany observed a day of mourning.

The archbishop of Cologne, Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki, and the head
of the Protestant Church of Westphalia, Annette Kurschus, led the
service.

"So many tears have been shed in the last weeks," Kurschus told those assembled.

"It is good when we can weep with each other, and for each other."

Co-pilot had been diagnosed as suicidal

Co-pilot Andreas Lubitz, who had been diagnosed as suicidal in the
past, is believed to have intentionally flown the plane into the
mountainside after locking the pilot out of the cockpit.

He was receiving treatment from neurologists and psychiatrists who
had signed him off sick from work a number of times, including the day
of the crash.

On April 2, German prosecutors said Lubitz had searched online for information about suicide and cockpit doors in the week before the disaster.

Aviation industry doctors have since demanded that German pilots
undergo more extensive medical checks, while several airlines worldwide
have changed rules to require two crew members in cockpits at all times.

Lufthansa chief Carsten Spohr, a former pilot, attended the ceremony
with three executives of its low-cost subsidiary Germanwings.

Spohr, who is grappling with a heavy blow to the airline's image,
asked Lufthansa pilots in attendance not to wear their uniforms to the
ceremony out of respect for the victims.

"150 victims"

Mourners left flowers and lit candles on the stairways leading to the
cathedral, and outside the city's main railway station nearby.

A bouquet of a dozen white tulips placed in front of the towering
cathedral had a card bearing the message, "Depression is incalculable,"
referring to Lubitz's illness.

Ursula Mund, 53, said Germans were still "baffled" by the senseless tragedy.

"We are still saddened and I feel very moved today," she said.

Michael Senker, 62, said the country shared in the relatives' suffering.

"We all feel touched by this horrible catastrophe," he said.

Ahead of the ceremony, Woelki urged compassion for all the dead, including Lubitz.

"There are 150 victims," he insisted.

The Germanwings Airbus 320 was en route from Barcelona to Duesseldorf
when it crashed in the French Alps on March 24, killing everyone
aboard, including 72 Germans and 50 Spaniards.

"Nothing has been what it was"

Germany was especially devastated by the loss of 16 students and two
teachers from a high school in the small town of Haltern as they
returned from a class trip to Spain.

German President Joachim Gauck said Friday that the nation was still
in "enormous shock."

"Since this day, nothing has been what it was for these families and
friends of the victims. Something was destroyed that can
never be healed again in this world", Gauck said.

Business executive Peter Eiglmeier said he had driven to Cologne from
the northern city of Hamburg to take part in the public show of
sympathy.

"I lost two children myself a few years ago. My thoughts go out to
the parents of those kids on the plane," the 57-year-old said,
fighting back tears.

Loved ones of victims previously attended a memorial event near the
disaster site, at the village of Le Vernet in the French Alps.

On April 13, the foreign ministers of Germany, Spain and France also
paid tribute to the victims at Barcelona airport, where the passengers
embarked.